


Homecoming

by ZekromFury



Category: Lovers of Aether (Video Game), Rivals of Aether (Video Game)
Genre: Birds, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute boys, DON'T WORRY THEY'RE ALL 18, Depression, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Furry, Gay, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Sex, Kissing, Love, M/M, Minor Violence, Mutual Pining, My First Fanfic, References to Depression, Romance, Shirtless, Wrastor and Bradshaw are both bottoms lol, a lot of this is ripped directly from Lovers lol, thank you dan fornace for blessing us with this game, very excited but also really nervous for this, well the first one I've ever published that is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 04:57:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19100173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZekromFury/pseuds/ZekromFury
Summary: Wrastor has always been seen as the "cool guy." He knows everything there is to know about everyone, is super friendly, helps break up fights, and wants to help people get along better.However, he has a secret: he's HELLA gay for his best friend Bradshaw.He wants to ask Bradshaw to the homecoming dance, but what if Bradshaw says no and stops being his friend and h o l y f u c k e v e r y t h i n g c o u l d g o w r o n g





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> Please give me constructive criticism on this I need more experience as an author thanks  
> Also: most of, like, the first half of the story is either based on or directly copied from Dan Fornace's game Lovers of Aether, so give credit to him (not to mention the rest of the people on the Rivals team) (also, go play the game, its. really fun)  
> Thanks for reading!

Wrastor woke up, rubbing his eyes. His two black eyes, bruised beyond recognition from last night at the Ding Dong Tree, with that stupid frog. _Shit. Why does it still hurt?_ He looked in the mirror and recoiled at his reflection. _I can’t be seen like this. I have a reputation to uphold._ He grabbed a nearby pair of sunglasses, threw on the coolest clothes he could think of, put on his backpack, and rushed out the door as quickly as possible. _I definitely can’t let_ them _see me like this,_ he thought frantically, looking back for just a second to make sure he wasn’t being followed.

He arrived at school and quickly made his way to homeroom, making sure to shoot some feather guns at anyone passing by. _Maintain an air of confidence. Don’t let them know._ He sat down in his usual seat and began reading a book. Soon enough, a blue bird sat down next to him. “Ey, Bradshaw, what’s up?” He said in what he hoped was a cool enough accent.

“Nothing much, how about you?” Bradshaw responded.

“Ehh, not much ever happens around here,” Wrastor shrugged.

“Really? Isn’t the homecoming dance tonight?”

Wrastor sat straight up in his chair, panic beginning to rush through his body. _GOD DAMN IT HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT THAT._ “Oh, yeah. I’m still, uh, deciding which of the pretty chickies I’m gonna be asking to the dance,” Wrastor shrugged, trying to stay as informal as possible. This was not true in the slightest. He had been planning to ask… well, the bird currently talking to him. His best friend for all of high school.  He was extremely cute, too.

“Ah, okay. I’ve already got someone in mind, actually,” Bradshaw smiled his small smile, and blushed slightly.

“Ah, good for you,” Wrastor grinned, using all of the strength he could muster not to sound disappointed. “This is your first year going, right? Glad the little chick’s finally flyin’ the nest.”

“Wrastor, we’re both legally adults. I wouldn’t really call us ‘chicks.’”

The class president, Maypul, got up in front of the class for announcements. She cleared her throat. “Good morning, class! I hope everyone’s excited for the homecoming dance tonight.”

“Woohoo! Homecoming, baby!” Sylvanos yelled from the back of the class. _God, I hate him so much. How is he even allowed in this school? All he does is do drugs all day._

Maypul looked at Sylvanos with a similar annoyance as a few people laughed. “Thank you for your input, Sylvanos. As I was saying, some of my more ardent supporters have been saying that they think I should be class president for life. I appreciate your faith in me! I therefore declare that we are holding a vote -- all in favor of me becoming class president for life, say ‘yeah!’”

From the front row Kragg gave a weak “yeah.” Class president for life sounded pretty worrying to Wrastor, though, especially in terms of Maypul.

“And all those opposed, say ‘I hereby relinquish my right to attend the Homecoming dance.’”

Nobody responded, instead talking amongst themselves worriedly. “That’s not fair,” Wrastor heard Etalus say from a few rows away.

“As I suspected, the Yeahs have won,” Maypul smiled. “I am, from hereon, the fairly and democratically elected class president for life, Maypul. I thank you for your support. Now carry on!”

The students began talking amongst each other once again. Wrastor sighed and turned to Bradshaw. “Man, I can’t believe that chick was elected to be leader of the whole class.”

“Yeah, I know, right? She barely knows how to lead people, anyways. I think you would be a much better leader.”

“Ahhh, you’re just saying that,” Wrastor said, blowing some hair out of his eyes but secretly feeling very pleased. “Me, I’ve got the leadership skills of a bunch of… pudding…?” He frowned, trying to think of a better alternative.

“No, I think you’re really cool. Even if you don’t have leadership skills, you’d still be a better leader than, well…” He looked over at Maypul, currently boasting about the fact that she was now class president for life, apparently. “...Her.”

“Hey, I just realized, I never asked who you were thinking of taking to homecoming with you,” Wrastor said. “Spill it! Who is it?”

“O-oh.” Bradshaw’s face reddened. “I, uh… It- it’s a surprise!”

“That so?” Wrastor raised an eyebrow. “Alright.” He put his feet up on his desk and leaned back nonchalantly. “I can’t quite see how keeping it a secret would help you ask them in any way, but go for it.”

“S-sorry, I’m just kind of embarrassed,” Bradshaw said, putting a wing on the back of his neck. “It probably wouldn’t work out, anyways. I might just be better off not going.”

“Aw, don’t say that.” Wrastor put a wing on Bradshaw’s shoulder. “Whoever it is, I’m sure you’ll knock it out of the park! After all, you’re a pretty cool dude.”

“Th-thanks,” Bradshaw smiled.

The PA system suddenly sounded, _very loudly_ , “This is your esteemed and benevolent Principal Loxodont speaking. First period is beginning in five minutes. Please report to your first period classrooms in an orderly and pacified manner! And _no_ discussion of the homecoming dance in the hallways! Dawdlers will be punished to the full extent of pachyderm law! That is all!”

“Aw, darn,” Bradshaw sighed. “I don’t think we have the same class next period.”

“That’s too bad,” Wrastor shook his head. “History is so boring.”

They bid each other farewell and Wrastor headed to his locker. _I hope I didn’t sound too weird. It’s too bad that he’s going to the dance with someone else. I wonder who…?_ He opened his locker and looked at the picture of Bradshaw with his next to it, B+W engraved in a heart on the inside of his locker door. He smiled slightly, but then frowned, realizing how unlikely of a scenario it was. _It’s my own damn fault for being so optimistic. Mom and dad always say you’ll amount to nothing. They’re probably right. When have they been wrong?_ A small part of his brain tried to fight that statement, but it was too tired and ended up just giving in to the rest of it. _I’m sick of them treating me like shit, but even if I am, I can’t do anything about it, or they’ll fight back._

He sighed and decided to just head to Ms. Granny’s class. After sitting down, he sighed a dramatic sigh loud enough to be heard by the people around him. “Man, I’m wiped. I got none left in the tank,” he said. That was true, at least. He was exhausted from his brain warring with itself, if not for just a few minutes.

“Let me guess, you just flew in, and boy, are your arms tired…” Zetterburn rolled his eyes.

“Hahaha! That’s a great joke. That’s a great joke, Zetterburn,” Etalus laughed.

“For your information, _fire breath,_ I was _out_ last night with a little ladybird,” Wrastor retorted. _Stay cool._

“You sure it wasn’t a ladybug?” Absa scowled.

“Haha! Wow, a slam dunk. Priceless.” Etalus wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. _Jesus. What are you, a forty-year-old pretending to be a high schooler?_

“Ehh, you should’ve seen me, papa! I was doing some diggity dance moves that woulda made you cry.” Wrastor adjusted his sunglasses and grinned.

“I don’t doubt that…” Absa sighed.

“Wrastor is so cool, you guys. He‘s got so many tricks with the chicks,” Etalus grinned.

“Illusions, more like,” Zetterburn said.

“...I don’t get it,” Etalus frowned.

Changing the subject, Absa asked, “Did anyone study for the test today?”

Wrastor froze. “Wh-” he started.

“There’s a-” Zetterburn continued.

“ _Test_?” Etalus finished with incredulity.

Mrs. Granny rapped on the chalkboard with her cane. “Alright, class, shut your mouths. Today is your first test of the year on Aetherian history. These are all basic questions about the world around you… You should have no trouble answering them.” With that, she handed out the tests to everyone.

Wrastor quickly finished all of the questions, almost laughing internally at how easy they were. You’d have to be someone who’d never seen Aether to get any of them wrong. He handed in his test, pleased at the fact that he did so before Absa, and sat back down to ponder existence for a while.

_Why haven’t I killed myself yet? It would be a better alternative to getting fucked up by my parents every day. It would be an absolute solution to my problems at the moment._

_But then Bradshaw would be all alone, and I’d never get to tell him that I love him._

_I guess he’s the only thing keeping me alive right now._

_I don’t think I’m right in the head. Maybe it’s because of how much I pretend to be cool. Maybe it’s because my parents abuse me so much. Probably not. Plenty of kids get abused by their parents. I’m not a unique case. It’s probably just because I pretend to be cool, then. I don’t think that qualifies as a mental disorder, though._

Wrastor thought about a few other things as the rest of the class finished their tests, mainly about his parents and Bradshaw. The PA system interrupted him mid-daydream, loudly announcing, “Enough dawdling! Idle minds are the Devil’s Discotheque! So get your books and GET MOVING!”

Wrastor shuffled out of the classroom and back to his locker, where Bradshaw was waiting for him. He smiled. “What’s up, Wrastor?”

“Nothin’ much, how about you?” Wrastor smiled back.

“Not much, I guess,” Bradshaw shrugged.

“Have you asked your date to homecoming yet?”

Bradshaw blushed. “N-not yet. I’ll do it later, though!”

“You’d better! I want you to have fun tonight!”

Bradshaw smiled. “Th-thanks.” He paused for a second. “A-actually, I-”

The PA cut him off. “Proceed to second period immediately.”

“Aw, rats. I have to go, sorry,” Bradshaw sighed. “I’ll see you in third period, though!”

“Oh. Okay. See ya!” Wrastor waved to him before heading to Mr. Cai’s classroom. He sat down at a vacant desk and began to read once more. Suddenly, he winced, a searing pain emerging from his eyes. _Ow. Is that from that frog fucker?_ He quickly pushed the pain away (or tried to, at least) and continued to read, but just got a headache. Sighing, he put away his book.

“Hey Elliana, catch!” Sylvanos suddenly exclaimed, throwing a sack across the room towards her.

“Wh-what?” Elliana said, startled. Sylvanos completely missed her, however, with the sack instead landing in Orcane’s blowhole. “Idiot…” she growled, turning back to the book she had been reading.

Sylvanos grinned as Orcane blew the sack back to him, missing just like he had. The sack landed on Forsburn’s desk, ruining a few of the papers on there. “M-my poem! Hey! Which one of you did that?” he barked.

Panicked, Sylvanos said, “Uh, Orcane! It was definitely Orcane!”

“You again, huh?” Forsburn turned to Orcane. _Oh, dang, this could get ugly if someone doesn’t step in soon. That would probably have to be me, damn it._ “I’m going to pound the living daylights out of-”

Wrastor stepped in between them and raised his wings to stop them. “What’s your bag, daddy-o? No need to get unglued! Let’s save the theatrics for _after_ the dance. Wouldn’t want a fresh pair of shiners, huh?” He groaned internally. _That was the stupidest sounding thing I’ve said all day._

Forsburn sighed, slumping back down in his seat and continuing to write (but not before glaring at Orcane one last time). Orcane gave Wrastor a thumbs up and continued doing what he had been doing before. Relieved, Wrastor walked back to his seat and tried not to focus on the fact that his head felt like it was splitting open. _Who knew getting two black eyes would give me so much of a headache?_

Mr. Cai suddenly walked into the room. “Excuse me, pupils! I’m sorry for the delay. I’m sure we’re all excited to get our English presentations over with immediately, so we’ll begin without delay. Orcane would you like to start us out?”

Orcane grinned. “Sorry, Mr. Cai, I’ll have to go tomorrow. My human ate my homework.”

Some students laughed a bit as Mr. Cai rolled his eyes. “You and I will have a word after class, Mr. Orcane. Alright, then, how about you…” When Mr. Cai didn’t call Wrastor’s name, he completely tuned out and devoted himself to looking out the window. It was a nice day out, with the grass looking and smelling well mowed, the sun shining brightly, and good _god_ his head hurt and this was not helping in the slightest. He closed his eyes and covered them with one of his wings, which ultimately did not help, given that his eyes were such a large part of the problem.

Eventually, the PA system sounded, and everyone moved out into the hallways. Wrastor met Bradshaw at his locker. “How’s it goin’, Bradshaw? Asked the li’l chicky to the dance yet?”

“No, not yet,” Bradshaw sighed. “I’m just really worried they’ll say no.”

“Hey,” Wrastor said, putting a wing on Bradshaw’s shoulder. “You’re a really great guy. I’m sure whoever it is will say yes.”

“But still, what if they don’t? What if they’re… too cool for me?”

“There’s no way anyone’s too cool for you. You’re, like, the coolest guy I know!” Wrastor grinned. “If they reject you, then _they’re_ the uncool one.”

Bradshaw opened his mouth to speak but the PA suddenly cut in. “Proceed to third period immediately.”

“Hey, at least we have that together,” Wrastor said. “Come on!”

Bradshaw looked like he wanted to say something but instead shook his head and walked with Wrastor to Professor Swiftwing’s class. As they walked in, Wrastor noticed a few students looking over at them and giggling. _Jesus. If you have anything to say, say it to my face._

They sat down at two adjacent seats and booted up the computers. Professor Swiftwing walked in at that moment. “I just flew in from the Fire Capitol and boy are my… whatever. Today isn’t the day. Don’t speak to me. Don’t look at me. Just play the darn computer game. And _form your own darn groups._ I don’t _care_ who you partner with -- not today!” With that he sat down at his desk and covered his face with his wings.

Wrastor looked at Bradshaw. “So, shall we partner up?”

“Yeah, sure.” Bradshaw looked distant, and he was staring at the wall.

“...Are you okay?” Wrastor asked.

“Huh?” Bradshaw shook his head and turned to Wrastor. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Thinking about your crush?”

Bradshaw’s face reddened. “Y-yeah. Sorry, I’m just- I’m just really scared. Very extremely scared. There’s so many factors at play here that could stop them from accepting my offer. Like, do they think I’m cool? Do they want to go in the first place? What if they already have a date and I don’t know about it?”

“Well, there’s no point in not asking, right? I mean, it’s senior year. You won’t get another chance to do this!”

“Oh, shit, you’re right.” Bradshaw’s eyes widened. “Oh my god, if they don’t accept, I’ll never get another chance to go to homecoming with someone.”

“Whoa, hey, let’s not jump to conclusions before you ask them. And anyways, if push comes to shove, then I can go with you instead. I mean, I’ve got no plans for tonight. But, like, just as friends. If you want.” _And I kind of desperately want to go with you because you’re a really cool dude and I like you a lot and-_

Bradshaw snapped his head up to look at Wrastor. He choked on his words for a second, and then shook his head. “Y-you- I-” He shook his head again as if to clear it, fumbling for the right words. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course!” Wrastor grinned. “You’re my best friend, and I wouldn’t want you to miss something so big, especially with how much you want to go to it. In any case, though, you should ask your crush first. Who _is_ your crush, anyways?”

“O-oh. I- I can’t say.”

“Ah, okay. I could always help you, though. I could be your wingman, if you know what I mean. I know a lot of people’s interests, and anyways, final attendance is next period, so there’s no point in waiting if I’m going to know by the end of next period.”

“Oh. That’s a good point.” Bradshaw sighed. “I-I don’t know how… well you’d be able to help me with this person, though.”

“Ah, are they in another class and I don’t know them?”

“No, but…”

“Then I know all of their likes and dislikes! Is it Absa? Maybe Maypul? Ooh, is it, uh, Clairen, then?”

“No, it’s none of them.” Bradshaw sighed. “Look, I’ll just tell you later, okay? I’m just… nervous. Way too nervous.” He nervously put a wing around the back of his neck.

“Aww, okay. That’s fine. If you change your mind, though, just let me know.” Wrastor turned back to his computer and winced, the pain in his eyes surging up once more.

Bradshaw frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” Wrastor clenched his teeth to try to lessen the pain but only made it worse. Sighing, he turned back to the computer again, only for his head to start feel like it was splitting apart.

“Are you _sure_ you’re okay?”

“No,” Wrastor groaned, holding his head in his wings. “My head and eyes have been hurting a lot today.”

“Ah. Is that why you’re wearing sunglasses?”

Wrastor paused. _What if he thinks I’m less cool for the fact that I’m hiding two black eyes, one from an unwarranted attack by a frog?_ “Y-yeah, sure.”

Bradshaw looked skeptical. “‘Sure?’ What’s that supposed to mean?”

Wrastor sighed. “Look, it’s kind of… embarrassing. I-”

“Ah, I understand. Sorry for being pushy.”

“No, you weren’t being pushy, you were just trying to care for me. There’s a difference.”

Elliana suddenly said, “Uh, Professor Swiftwing? I think class is over now.”

When the professor didn’t look up from his desk and continued snoring loudly, Orcane crept over and blew a spout of water right in his face. Startled, he bolted upright and yelped, “Okay! I’m up, I’m up! I’m awake! Uhh, okay. Yes. Uh, great work, everyone. I think it’s, uh, about time for class to finish. Great work. You all did swell.” He then sat back down at his desk, laid his head down, and began snoring loudly once again.

“I guess we should leave…?” Bradshaw shrugged.

They walked out into the hallway and back to their lockers. Wrastor took one last look at the picture of Bradshaw in his locker and smiled.

The room was abuzz with conversations about homecoming, with a few students asking each other to the dance. Wrastor sat down next to Bradshaw again and turned to face him. “Well, Bradshaw-”

“It’s now or never,” Bradshaw sighed. “If I don’t do this, then I’ll never get another chance to. But if I do do this and they refuse… what will they think of me?”

“Dude, seriously, you’ll be fine. You’re a pretty charismatic guy, you know.”

Bradshaw snorted. “Oh, yes, definitely. Everyone loves me.”

“Exactly. Now come on, go ask whoever it is to the dance!”

“Alright, alright.” Bradshaw gulped and got up from his chair, walking over to Absa. _Oh, dang, I knew it! That was my first guess!_ The two talked for a few minutes, with Bradshaw blushing the entire time. Eventually he nodded his head, got up, and walked back over to Wrastor.

“I knew it! It was Absa!” Wrastor grinned. “So, how’d it go?”

Wrastor looked conflicted for a fraction of a second and then sighed defeatedly. “Oh, uh, she said no.”

“Wow, really? That’s surprising. I thought for certain she’d have said yes!” _That actually_ is _surprising. Bradshaw is, like, almost top of the class in every class._

Bradshaw shrugged. “I-I mean, it’s fine! At least I’ll still get to go to the dance, right?”

“Ah, right. So what time should I pick you up?”

“Oh, no, I can pick you up. Don’t worry! I’ll be there at six, how does that sound?”

Bradshaw’s heart lurched. _NOPE. You CANNOT pick me up please don’t pick me up you can’t find out about what’s happening at home under any circumstances otherwise everything would just be awkward and you’d just hate me and you’d find out I’m gay and everything would fall apart and_ “Uh, sure, that sounds good. Uh, my parents kind of might not want me to be going out with friends too much, though, so could you meet me a house down or something?”

“Of course,” Bradshaw nodded. “Sorry. I know you weren’t planning on going to the dance tonight, so…”

“No, seriously, it’s fine! I’m willing to do anything for my best friend.”

Bradshaw looked to the side for a second before taking a deep breath. “Actually, I-”

The PA system suddenly screeched on. “Serv- Students, you may now leave the school. Make sure to be back at six thirty for the homecoming dance. _Please_ leave.”

“W-welp, that’s the end of school! I’ll see you at six!” Bradshaw said hurriedly, cracking a small grin. “I’ll make sure to meet you a house or two down from yours, don’t worry.”

“O-okay, see you then,” Wrastor replied as Bradshaw sped off. _I wonder why he’s in such a hurry._ He walked back into the hallway and out the front doors, passing a few kissing couples in the process. _I could be one of them with Bradshaw if I was brave enough. Why am I such a coward? Why couldn’t I at least ask him if he was gay?_ He sighed, angry at himself. _No, he was going to ask Absa. Oh, well. At least I’m going to the dance with him._

Wrastor took off into the air, flying back home. Home? No, not really. It was more like a prison. He looked back at the school. _Should I even go home right now? What if they bruise my wing or something? Then I won’t be able to fly._ He gulped and got out his phone. It was surprising enough that his parents were actually willing to give him this. After entering his password, he opened the texting app.

hey bradshaw is it ok if we meet at school instead

 

Yeah sure

Why? What’s wrong

 

nothing, just a slight change of plans

sorry

 

Don’t worry! It’s fine!

 

Thanks

 

No problem!

 

Wrastor sighed with relief and shut his phone off. _Okay. Six o’clock. That’s only, like, two hours away. Not_ that _long._ He looked back at the school. _I wonder if there’s anything going on in there. I doubt it. I think the library is open right now, though. Oh, maybe I could finish reading that book I got the other day. That’s a good idea._ He walked into the school through the double doors and walked to the library.

There were only two or so other students in the library when Wrastor got there, although one of them only seemed to be there for the computers. Wrastor plopped down in a comfortable-looking chair and opened up his book. At least his parents weren’t able to restrict his reading material. Of course, there weren’t very many actually decent gay romance novels in the library at the school, but at least they had a few. Granted, he had read and memorized pretty much all of them over the past few years, since he had first realized he was gay.

It had been back five-ish years ago (of course, he’d only told his parents six months earlier, and look how well _that_ went), at one of the biggest sleepovers of seventh grade. Nearly a quarter of the entire grade had shown up for it, if he remembered correctly. Naturally, being seventh graders that were too immature for their own good, someone (it was probably Orcane, now that Wrastor thought about it) got out a jar of pickle juice and mayonnaise and an empty bottle and called everyone over. “Who wants to play _spin the bottle_ ?” the person had said gleefully (oh, yeah, no, it was _definitely_ Orcane. _Thanks for making me realize I’m gay, I guess?_ Wrastor thought to himself.). Naturally, everyone gathered around in a circle. “Let’s raise the stakes for this, though,” Orcane grinned wickedly, “so whoever refuses to kiss the person has to drink _this!_ ”

Wrastor had been confident until it got to his turn, at which point nobody had drunk any of the devious concoction. _Oh god please don’t let it be someone cute,_ he had thought as he spun the bottle, and watched its nose slowly point

_Directly at Bradshaw_

Orcane grinned as Bradshaw and Wrastor blushed. “Oh, boy, looks like _trouble!_ ”

 _Oh god oh fuck what do I do I can’t kiss a boy that’s illegal wait no it’s not but I also really don’t want to eat that weird pickle mayonnaise thing that would probably kill me but also at the same time I_ “Yo, Wrastor, you know what that means,” Bradshaw grinned from across the circle, still blushing slightly. “Are you going to be the first to drink that stuff?”

“N-no!” Wrastor had said hurriedly. “I-I’ll kiss you!”

He leaned across the circle as everyone else at the party chanted “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

While the kiss itself was short, its effect lingered. Wrastor knew (or at least _thought_ he knew) that it was wrong to be kissing another boy. That’s what his parents had told him, after all. But kissing Bradshaw just felt so… right. But it was wrong! It wasn’t supposed to be like that! Only boys and girls were supposed to kiss!

The bottle didn’t end up landing on either Wrastor or Bradshaw for the rest of the game, and eventually it just devolved into everyone trying to get everyone else to eat the weird substance. For the rest of the sleepover, though, long after everyone else had gone to bed, Wrastor stayed up, thinking about the fact that it felt nice to kiss a boy. He wanted to do it again. But everyone would hate him, right? There was no way he would be able to do that again.

That’s why he had kept his gayness secret for so long. If he had told someone that he _was_ gay, they would hate him. That’s what happened with his parents when he’d told them. They’d opted to make his life a living hell. That’s probably what would happen now too, if he told anyone else about it. Maybe-

“Excuse me,” a voice said, interrupting his thoughts. He looked up to see Ranno. _Oh, no, not him._ “Er… Wrastor, was it?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Wrastor said. “What’s the dealio?”

“I just wanted to… apologize for last night. You know, at the Ding Dong Tree.”

“Oh. Okay.” Wrastor shrugged. “I mean, I _was_ being an asshole.”

“No, I attacked you unprovoked. That’s why I’m apologizing.”

“Yeah, but I was probably doing something that was making you mad or something.” _Please just leave me alone._

“Anyways, I was, uh, wondering if you’re, uh, going to the dance tonight with anyone?”

“Yeah, I am. Why?”

“Oh, no reason,” Ranno said, putting a hand on the back of his neck.

He stood there for a few seconds before Wrastor said, “Okay, then. Thanks for the apology, I guess?”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Ranno replied. “See you later.” He muttered something like “ _ugh, straight boys_ ” under his breath as he walked away.

 _Yikes. Okay. Back to reading, I guess._ Wrastor opened his book back to where he had left off. _I wonder if Bradshaw_ would _really hate me if I told him I was gay. Maybe I’m just being irrational as always. Maybe he’d… love me back._

_No, that’s not possible. You’re an unlovable piece of garbage. Stop fantasizing and snap back into reality. You’re never going to find a boyfriend. You’re just going to die, cold and alone, probably at the age of, like, twenty or something. You’re never going to amount to anything, are you? You haven’t even decided what you want to major in. College applications are due in six months and you haven’t decided which one to go to. Don’t you understand? College could be your one way out of this hellhole of a life._

Wrastor’s phone suddenly beeped at him. _Oh, it’s Bradshaw._ The text read, “Are you here yet? I’m out front.”

 _Oh, shit, it’s already six,_ Wrastor thought, looking at a clock. _Time really does fly when you’re emotionally abusing yourself._

He quickly left the library and walked out the doors of the school, where people were starting to gather and enter the school for the dance. Bradshaw was sitting on a bench, working on homework or something. He looked up and flew over to Wrastor. “Hey, Wrastor,” he smiled. “Are you ready for this?”

“Heck yeah!” Wrastor grinned back. “Let’s dance the night away, baby!”

Bradshaw snorted. “You got it. But, uh, there’s something I’ve kind of been wanting to say for a while now.”

“Oh yeah? What’s up?”

“I-” Bradshaw looked down for a moment before his gaze returned to Wrastor. “N-not here.”

“Oh. Okay.” Wrastor tilted his head. “Where do you want to talk about this, then?”

“Um… How many people do you think are in the library right now?”

Wrastor thought back to when he had left the library. “Nobody, not even the librarian,” he shook his head.

“Cool. Let’s go,” Bradshaw said, grabbing Wrastor’s wing and dragging him along to the library.

Just as Wrastor suspected, there was nobody in there when they arrived. Bradshaw sighed with relief.

“So, what is it?” Wrastor asked. “Is something wrong?”

“I… haven’t been honest with you. Not in the slightest,” Bradshaw sighed.

“What, are you a time traveler from the future here to stop a growing evil?” Wrastor joked.

“No, you’re thinking of Clairen,” Bradshaw shook his head. “I… don’t know if I can properly say this.” he paused for a second too long.

“What is it, Bradshaw? It’s obvious this has been weighing down on you for a while n- wait, what was that about Clairen?”

“That doesn’t matter right now. Anyways, I’ve been lying to you. I… wasn’t actually asking Absa to the dance during homeroom today.”

“Oh. Really? What were you talking to her about, then?”

“...I… uh… No, god, I can’t do this. I’m too afraid.” Bradshaw smiled at Wrastor with what looked like the fakest happiness Wrastor had seen. “Ah, forget about it. It doesn’t matter. Let’s just go to the dance!”

“No, something’s wrong. Are you okay? Did Absa hurt you or something?”

“No, that’s not it. I just…” Bradshaw sighed. “I want to talk about it. But I can’t. I don’t have it in me. I’m… a coward. That’s what I am.” He shook his head and smiled. “But that’s irrelevant. Come on, let’s go!”

“Absolutely not. I’m willing to listen, and you’re willing to talk. And what do you mean, a _coward_? You’re, like, one of the bravest people I know!”

Bradshaw looked down. “Don’t lie to me. I can’t do something as simple as telling you something! It took me the whole day alone just to talk to Absa for help!”

“I’m not lying. It takes courage to talk to someone, even if it takes a while. You have that courage.”

Bradshaw looked up at Wrastor. There were tears in his eyes. “But what if you hate me?” he cried. “What if you never speak to me again? What if you tell everyone, and then everyone else will hate me too, and it’ll be all my fault, just because I told you?” He sank into a chair and put his wings over his head. “I am a coward. A worthless, stupid coward.”

“Whoa, hold on.” Wrastor sat down next to Bradshaw. “I could never hate you. I’d never do any of those things to you. You’re my best friend!”

“I’ve had too many bad experiences in the past concerning friends and them spilling my secrets to everyone and crushing me to count. I just… haven’t quite moved past those yet. I wish I could trust people. I’m sorry.”

“...Oh, jeez, I’m sorry to hear that. B-but I swear to you, I’m no rumormonger. I wouldn’t go spreading rumors about you to other people.”

“I just-” Bradshaw drew a shaky breath. “I know. And I know that you won’t hate me or spread rumors about me, but there’s still some piece of me, some horrible, _horrible_ piece of me, that thinks otherwise.” Bradshaw began to cry again. “I hate it.”

Unsure what else to do or say, Wrastor wrapped his arms around Bradshaw in a hug. “I’m sorry.”

Bradshaw sat still for a second and then buried his face in Wrastor’s chest, still sobbing. Wrastor blushed but said nothing. Eventually, Bradshaw lifted his head up once more. His eyes were red but he wasn’t crying anymore. “S-sorry,” he said, blushing.

“No, it’s fine.”

“...You wouldn’t actually hate me, would you?”

“No, of course not.”

“Not even if I… cheated on a test?”

“I’ve cheated before,” Wrastor shrugged.

“Not even if I forgot to say hi to you one day or something like that?”

“That would be fine and doesn’t mean we wouldn’t be friends.”

“Not even if I was gay and in love with you for five and a quarter years?”

“That’s, uh, oddly specific, but no, I wouldn’t hate you. Where are you going with this?”

Bradshaw diverted his eyes. “That last one. That’s what I was going to tell you.”

Wrastor froze. “Oh.” A thousand thoughts rushed through his head. “ _Ohhh._ ” _Oh fuck he’s actually in love with me he’s been in love with me for longer than I’ve been in love with him oh shit we’re both in love with each other oh my god I could’ve told him I was gay back in seventh grade I could have told him I wanted to go to the dance with him today wait are we going to be boyfriends or something now oh god what would mom and dad think what if they try to hurt me or kill me or ruin our relationship what if-_

“I’m sorry,” Bradshaw sighed. “I should have told you earlier. I was planning on asking you all day, and I had a million chances to ask you, but I never did, and now you probably hate me, and oh my god, I never should have-”

Wrastor kissed Bradshaw square on the beak.

Bradshaw’s face immediately turned a bright red, but he didn’t pull away. They stayed intertwined for what seemed like forever before Wrastor let go of him. “S-sorry, I probably should’ve asked you first,” Wrastor said, his face more red than purple.

Bradshaw was quiet for a moment before he grinned. “Too bad that wasn’t our first kiss.”

“Wh- Oh, god, you remember that?”

“How could I forget?” Bradshaw laughed. “I was in love with you, and we kissed, even if it was somewhat brief.”

“I think that was the night I finally realized I was gay,” Wrastor smiled. “I’ll never forget it either.”

The doors to the library suddenly began creaking open. “Oh shit, hide,” Bradshaw hissed, shoving Wrastor behind a bookshelf and hiding back there with him. Wrastor peeked around the bookshelf to see who it was. It looked like Orcane was sneaking into the library, but nobody was with him. _What is he planning…?_

“Hmm, you’d think the library would be a little more populated right now. It’s nice in here, the perfect place for a new couple,” Orcane muttered. “Ah, well, guess I’ll just have to come back later to see who’s here.” He walked back to the entrance of the library and Wrastor heard the door close.

He waited for a second before slowly getting up, as did Bradshaw. “That was close,” he sighed.

“I _KNEW_ IT!” Orcane yelled from the front of the library. Wrastor jumped backwards, landing in Bradshaw’s arms, who quickly set him aside, blushing.

“Wh- didn’t you leave?” Bradshaw said, startled. “What are you doing here?”

Ignoring him, Orcane took out a notebook, scribbled something down, and closed it, satisfied. “That’s an eighth!”

“...Of what?”

“An eighth of the senior class this year is gay!”

“Wait, really?” Wrastor frowned. “Who?”

“Well, I can’t name them all off the top of my head, but I do remember that there’s me, Kragg, Absa, Maypul, Ranno, Zetterburn, and now you two,” Orcane said, listing them off. “I mean, there’s more than those eight, but you get the idea.”

“Wait, Kragg’s gay?”

“Ye- why is everyone always so surprised at that?”

“I don’t know, he’s kind of- way too quiet, I guess.”

“Yes, well, he’s very sweet once you get to know him,” Orcane smiled goofily and blushed slightly. “The _sweetest._ ”

“That’s debatable,” Bradshaw said, blushing slightly as he looked at Wrastor.

“Oh my god, I totally called this, like, five years ago at that slumber party I had,” Orcane grinned.

 _Oh, fuck off. Why does everyone remember that?_ “That was an… interesting night for the both of us,” Wrastor shrugged. “That was the night I realized I was gay, after I’d been told my whole life that it was wrong for boys to love boys.”

“And for me, it was the first time I got to kiss Wrastor,” Bradshaw blushed.

“The FIRST time?” Orcane’s eyes lit up. “Oh, dang. You know what, actually, maybe I should leave you guys be. I’ve got a dance to get back to, anyways! Good luck with your relationship endeavors!”

“Oh, uh, please don’t tell anyone about the fact that we’re gay,” Wrastor asked.

“Oh, of course not. I know _firsthand_ how many homophobes are in this school. A _lot._ It sucks. But you can get through it! I believe in you two!”

“Th-thanks,” Bradshaw said. “That means a lot.”

“No prob.” Orcane shot up finger guns at them (or, well, paw guns). “But seriously, if you guys need any help, just call on me. Also, the dance ends in thirty minutes, so if you want to dance at all you should probably get down there soon.”

Wrastor looked at Bradshaw. “What do you think?”

“A-actually, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about,” Bradshaw mumbled. “Er, alone.” He looked up at Orcane.

“Gotcha. I’ll leave you two be. Have fun with your totally straight friendship! _Wink,_ ” he said as he winked and walked out the library doors.

Bradshaw looked after him for a second before turning back to Wrastor. “Well, uh, three things, actually. One, about when I was talking to Absa earlier. I never told you why.”

“Oh, right. What was that all about if you ended up being gay for me anyways?” Wrastor tilted his head slightly.

“I was, uh,” Bradshaw blushed, “asking her for relationship advice. Did you know she and Maypul are dating?”

“Oh, well, Orcane said their names right next to each other when he was listing off our classmates that were gay, so I kind of figured.”

“Yeah, anyways, she told me that I was an idiot and that it’s been super obvious that you’ve been in love with me back for about four years now. But you said it was at the sleepover five years ago that you realized you were gay for me, so I guess you just stayed under the gaydar for a year before it became obvious.”

“Bradshaw, the fact that you asked her for relationship advice is adorable.”

Bradshaw blushed. “W-well, I figured since she’s the smartest person in class, she’d know about that kind of thing.”

“You’re also right behind her in every subject,” Wrastor pointed out.

“True.” Bradshaw shrugged. “Anyways, point two. Why have you been wearing sunglasses all day?”

“Oh, uh, I-” _Do I tell the truth, or… a small lie? Would that work?_ “I got two black eyes at the Ding Dong Tree last night while I was playing backseat bingo,” Wrastor shrugged. “Ranno kicked me in the face for no reason. If you really want to see the way my eyes look, you can take them off.”

Bradshaw frowned and took off Wrastor’s sunglasses. The library lights now see _med_ _extremely intense holy shit my eyes are burning-_

Bradshaw put Wrastor’s sunglasses back on. Wrastor shook away the pain as Bradshaw sighed.

“Are you lying?” he asked, tilting his head with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

“I- what?” Wrastor shook his head, which was an extremely bad idea because holy shit his eyes were now in even more pain. “What do you mean?”

“Point three, kind of. I know that one of those is from Ranno, but the other one doesn’t seem like it was done in the same style.”

Wrastor nearly choked on his own spit. _Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck I can’t let him know about my situation at home he’ll just call the cops and everything’ll just get worse and I don’t want him knowing how awful they are and they’re just going to beat me even more and then I’ll just keep getting more bruises and more black eyes and then Bradshaw won’t love me and my life will just spiral downwards into a miserable hell and then I’ll end up killing myself before I’m even done with high school and nobody will end up remembering me and I’ll just be another nameless statistic and-_

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry, are you okay?” Bradshaw asked, rushing over and taking Wrastor’s wing in his.

“What? What do you mean? I’m okay. Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine. Why do you ask?” Wrastor asked, hurriedly rushing through his statements.

“...I mean, you’re crying, so…”

 _Wait, really?_ Wrastor put a feather up to his eyes and wiped a tear away. _Fuck._

“S-sorry, I didn’t realize that was a sensitive topic,” Bradshaw sighed. “I know how it is. I _should have_ known.”

“No, it’s- it’s fine. I’m sorry. I just… overthink things, that’s all.”

“I won’t bring it up again. I promise,” Bradshaw shook his head. “Sor-”

“It’s my parents,” Wrastor said suddenly, impulsively, clenching his fist. “My asshole parents who don’t know how to treat people like _actual people!_ My asshole parents that don’t want to be around me at all because I’m disgusting! My asshole parents that don’t think I am capable of feeling empathy! Maybe _I’m_ the idiot here because I trusted them for a fraction of a second, actually thought that they would be able to help me instead of beating me into the ground every single fucking day just because I’m gay! At this rate, I’m going to die or kill myself before the end of college because of all the stress that’s put on me by them alone! And if I tell you, then you’ll just call CPS or the cops and they’ll beat me more and I’ll be more depressed and you’ll stop loving me and my life will become even more of a hell than it already is and I’ll just end up becoming a statistic because I killed myself and nobody remembered me because I was a nameless face and nobody remembered me!”

“Hey,” Bradshaw said, pulling his wings around Wrastor in a tight embrace. “I- uh, I’m not sure what else to say, but I just want you to know that I will never stop loving you. You’re, like, the best person I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t stop loving you for anything. E-even if your parents aren’t on your side, I will be.”

“...Thanks. That means a lot,” Wrastor sniffed, wiping a tear away from his eye. _Am I still crying?_ _Damn it. Why do I have to be so weak?_

The PA system suddenly alarmed. “Students, the homecoming dance is now over. Please go home now.”

“Oh.” Wrastor sighed. “I wish tonight could’ve been longer. I don’t want to go home.”

Bradshaw looked at him. “Nobody said we had to go home.”

“What do you mean?”

“I, uh… have a secret hideout,” Bradshaw explained. “Only I know about it. It has some food and blankets and stuff. You know, just in case. We could always just sleep there together.”

“Sleep together? I don’t know about you, but we _just_ became boyfriends, so-”

“Wh- _That’s not what I meant!_ ” Bradshaw’s face reddened. “I-I mean, unless you’re fine with that and actually want to-”

“Bradshaw, I literally just kissed a boy for the second time. I’m not prepared for that, and I’m pretty sure you aren’t, either. What I meant was, well… I don’t know, even sleeping in the same room as you feels kind of intimate to me.”

“Oh. Do you want me to fly you home, then?”

“Hey, I never said I didn’t _want_ to stay the night at your, uh… hideout. It seems cool and I’ve been needing a break from my family.”

“Well, okay then. To be honest, I’ve been needing a break from my family, too. Ah, first things first, though, we can’t let them know where we are, so you should probably check your phone for a tracking device.”

“Wha- why do you think they would put a tracking device on my phone?”

“Experience,” Bradshaw frowned grimly. “Can I see your phone real quick?”

“Yeah, sure,” Wrastor said, handing Bradshaw his phone.

Bradshaw looked over the phone. “Yeah, no, there’s a tracker in here. I don’t have the tools with me to fix it at the moment, so I’d recommend maybe hiding your phone in here and getting it back tomorrow.”

“Wait, you can remove it?”

“I’m not in an engineering and design class for nothing,” Bradshaw shrugged.

Wrastor quickly hid his phone in between two of the gay romances he had read before on a shelf. “Alright, so when should we go?”

“Whenever you’re ready, I guess.’

“Then I guess we should go, like, right now. My parents are probably looking for me, now that I think about it. And if they’ve been monitoring my location, they might know I’m here, and now that the dance is over they’re probably close by. We should stay alert.”

Bradshaw snorted. “We’re going to a small cave, not an enemy base.”

“Well, knowing my parents…”

“You’re right. Anyways, let’s go!” Bradshaw hurriedly pulled Wrastor along through the halls towards the front entrance before stopping short. “Hang on, they might be waiting for us here. Maybe at the back door, too. Let’s go out through a classroom.”

“Ah, good idea,” Wrastor nodded, following Bradshaw’s lead. _Why didn’t I think of that?_

They ran into an empty classroom with nobody around and flew out the window into the cool night air. “Follow me,” Bradshaw said, not giving Wrastor much of a choice given the fact that he was dragging him by the wing.

They flew for a few minutes before Bradshaw took a sudden dive into a forested area. He put a feather up to his mouth, prompting Wrastor to be silent. Soon enough, there was a rustling from the treetops above and two figures crashed into the forest through the leaves. Bradshaw pushed Wrastor’s head down slightly, hiding in a bush.

Wrastor’s father looked around for a second. “They aren’t here. That wasn’t them.”

“I know it was them. What other birds would be flying around after a school dance?”

“Yes, well, Wrastor’s phone says that he’s still at the school, so they never left.”

Wrastor’s mother sighed. “God, why can’t that fa-”

Wrastor forced himself to block out the rest of her sentence. He was used to her calling him that, but it didn’t hurt any less. Knowing that his own parents hated him was hell, the worst kind of hell.

Wrastor’s mother soon flew back out of the forest. Bradshaw and Wrastor waited a few minutes to make sure the area was clear before getting up and brushing themselves off. Bradshaw looked at Wrastor. “Are you okay?” he whispered.

“More or less,” Wrastor whispered back. “Come on, let’s fly.”

Bradshaw cautiously left the bush with Wrastor in tow, and they took flight again, making sure they weren’t being followed. Eventually, they got far enough away that they felt safe again. Wrastor sighed. “I’m… sorry you had to hear all that.”

Bradshaw fidgeted. “God, you were right. I want to punch them in the face.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Anyways, we’re almost there. Sorry, it’s on, like, the outskirts of town. But at least it’s safe. Nobody’ll know that we’re there.”

“Good,” Wrastor nodded.

They flew for a few more minutes before Bradshaw began lowering down to the ground. “We’re here.”

Wrastor looked around. “I don’t see anything.”

Bradshaw pointed to a cliff overlooking the giant aetherian forest and flew down to the side of it. Wrastor followed suit and noticed a crack in the cliff. “It’s through here. Don’t worry, it isn’t too tight. I can hold your hand if you want.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine,” Wrastor responded, following Bradshaw through the crack.

It was dark, and pretty poorly lit. While it wasn’t a tight fit, Wrastor still felt slightly uncomfortable. Wait, where were Bradshaw’s footsteps? Did he lose him? _Oh god oh no I can’t be stuck like this am I going to die here_ “H-hey, Bradshaw?” he whispered, loud enough that Bradshaw would be able to hear.

“Yeah?” Bradshaw asked, appearing beside him. “Are you okay?”

“A-actually, I was thinking, uh, you know your way around here better than I do, so maybe it is a good idea for me to, uh… hold your hand.”

Bradshaw smiled. Not a taunting, malicious smile, but a genuine, caring smile. “Of course!” He grabbed onto his wing. “Come on!”

As Wrastor walked with Bradshaw through the tunnel, which felt a _lot_ longer than it should have been, he thought to himself about a multitude of things. _I wonder why this cave is so long. Wait, are those footsteps behind us? No, there’s nobody there. I wonder what Bradshaw’s little cave thing will look like. Is there even a cave? What if he’s just luring me into a trap so he can, like, kill me for being gay?_

 _What if you could shut the_ fuck _up_ , Wrastor growled back internally. _He’s been your friend for over seven years. He admitted to you he was gay first. He didn’t pull away when you kissed him. He literally said he was in love with you. He actually fucking_ listened. _Have at least a_ shred _of faith for him._

 _But what about everyone else you’ve put your faith in? How has_ that _turned out for you? They’ve done nothing but hurt you, stalk you, try to ruin your entire fucking life. What if Bradshaw’s just the same? What if-_

“Hey, Bradshaw, this room thing of yours, it’s not a place to, like, murder me at, is it?” Wrastor asked.

“No…? Why would I murder you? You’re my boyfriend.”

“Okay, good,” Wrastor said, looking down at the ground. “I just have… trust issues, I guess.”

“I understand.”Bradshaw looked back at him sympathetically before bumping into a small wooden door. “Ouch. We’re here.” He opened it. “Sorry, it’s not much, but at least we’ll have a place to sleep where nobody will bother us.”

Despite what Bradshaw had just said, the cave was actually pretty spacious, not to mention pretty well-lit. There were some sleeping bags, a mattress, a large rug, and a few blankets laying on the ground, enough for at least three people to sleep in there at a time. “Oh, wow. It’s pretty nice in here, actually.”

“Thanks.” An awkward silence held between the two of them for a second before Bradshaw suggested, “Maybe we should get ready for bed. You seem pretty tired.”

“Oh. I-I guess, if you want to.” It was quite the opposite, actually; adrenaline flowed through Wrastor’s veins due to how close in proximity, not to mention an _intimate_ proximity, he was to Bradshaw.

“To be honest, I’m pretty tired, too,” Bradshaw said. “Do you want the mattress or a sleeping bag?”

“I’m fine with either,” Wrastor shrugged. “Which one do you want?”

“I think I’ll take a sleeping bag.”

“I’ll take one, too, I guess,” Wrastor shrugged, laying one out on the floor as Bradshaw did the same.

“Sorry, I don’t think I actually have food in here at the moment,” Bradshaw sighed. “I mean, I ate dinner before the dance but didn’t you stay at school?”

“Oh, I, uh, had some food beforehand too,” Wrastor lied, not wanting to worry Bradshaw. Of course, he wouldn’t get hungry, he already knew. After all, most of his nights were spent hiding from his parents’ criticisms in his room while they ate dinner.

“Ah, that’s good,” Bradshaw nodded. “I also don’t have any pajamas, either, so-”

“Oh, I usually just sleep in my shorts anyways,” Wrastor shrugged.

“Ah, me too,” Bradshaw said, blushing slightly. “Anyways, why don’t we get into bed so we can talk more comfortably?”

“Good idea.”

“D-don’t look, though,” Bradshaw said, reaching for the bottom of his shirt. Wrastor nodded and turned away until Bradshaw said, “okay, you can look again. Or, wait, sorry. I’m not looking. Tell me when you’re in your sleeping bag.”

Wrastor quickly took off his shirts and put them on the ground next to his sleeping bag along with his sunglasses and shoes. He got into his sleeping bag and said, “okay, you’re good to go.”

Bradshaw turned around and grinned at him. “I’m not going to lie, this is pretty exciting.”

“And nerve-wracking,” Wrastor added.

“Ah, why’s that?”

“I don’t know. I just feel… nervous when I’m so close to you. Like someone’s going to pop out and be like, ‘ew, he’s gay’ or ‘ew, Bradshaw’s gay’ and then harass me, or worse, you, for it. Even when we’re alone. Although the nervousness when we’re alone is different. With that, it’s more that you’re _hella_ cute.”

Bradshaw laughed. “Aww. I guess being around you’s made some of _your_ cuteness rub off on me.”

Wrastor blushed. “Oh, you’re just saying that.”

“No! I’m serious! You’re super cute! Not to mention really cool, too!”

“Yeah, but that whole cool thing is just a facade,” Wrastor sighed. “I just try to look and act cool and usually either make it work but I talk really weirdly or it almost completely fails! I’m just a fraud trying to disguise my failures as being interesting!”

Bradshaw was silent for a moment. “Well, first off, I know how you feel. It’s tough trying to fit in. However… that’s really stupid and counter-intuitive.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, yeah, you look and act like you’re cool but you’re just pretending, so you’ll never be cool. It’s not like by acting and looking like you’re cool, you _are_ cool.”

“I- that’s not how it works.”

“Wrastor, you’re super popular. Everyone in the entire school likes you.”

“That’s not true in the slightest. Pretty much only people in my classes know me, and even then, a lot of people get annoyed with how badly I speak. I have no fucking idea what comes over me when I try to act cool. Like, what decade am I in?”

Bradshaw snorted. “You do sound kind of funny when you shift into _cool mode_ ,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t mean you’re not cool!” He looked into Wrastor’s eyes and sighed. “Look, I totally understand the whole self-deprecation thing. It’s definitely hard to move past, dare I say nearly impossible. But I want to help you get through this.”

 _I can tell you right now that that will not be possible, given the irreversible damage that has been done to me by some people._ “I know,” Wrastor sighed. “Thank you for trying to help me.”

“Of course,” Bradshaw nodded. “I don’t know, I kind of feel like I have to help you move past everything.”

“Oh, you don’t have to. It’s impossible to fix some things. With those things, it’s best to just not interfere, maybe. Otherwise you’ll just tire yourself out trying to fix something you can’t fix.”

Bradshaw thought for a moment. “That’s a good point, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re my frien- I mean, boyfriend, and I want to help you with as much as I can.”

Wrastor smiled. “Thanks, I guess. Just don’t tire yourself out too much.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Bradshaw asked, “Hey, are you cold?”

Now that he mentioned it, yes, it was kind of cold in this cave. “A bit, yeah.”

“Hold on, I’ll get us both a blanket.” Bradshaw began to get up before he said, “oh, uh, don’t look.”

“Ah, right,” Wrastor said, covering his eyes. He felt a comfortable weight fall onto his back. “Thank-” Unexpectedly, a warm figure slid into bed next to him. Wrastor quickly uncovered his eyes, now staring directly at Bradshaw’s face.

Bradshaw stuck his tongue out. “That’s strange. I thought your face was supposed to be purple, not bright red.”

Wrastor was silent, staring at Bradshaw with his beak slightly agape. _But neither of us has a shirt on and we’re both gay and we’re both sleeping next to each other and what the fuck are we doing Bradshaw what have you done oh god wh_ “U-uh, thanks for the blanket.”

“No prob. Hold on a second…” Bradshaw flipped Wrastor over and wrapped a wing around his chest. He looked surprised. “Oh damn, you’re a lot fluffier than I thought.”

“I- Fluffy?”

“Yeah!” Bradshaw stuck his face directly into Wrastor’s chest feathers. “Someone could make a pillow with your feathers and it would put everyone to sleep instantly,” he said in a muffled voice.

“That’s- a good thing…?”

Bradshaw removed his face from Wrastor’s feathers, looked at his face for a second, and laughed. “You look so cute right now.”

Wrastor blushed even harder than he had been before. “Uh, why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

Bradshaw’s face reddened. “I don’t know. I just felt like it. Sorry, do you want me to go back to my sleeping bag, or-”

“I-I didn’t say that!”

Bradshaw’s breath felt warm on Wrastor’s neck as he chuckled slightly. “Sorry. So, uh, what do you want to talk about?”

“...Uh, what college are you going to?”

“Probably the Air Armada Academy. I want to learn how to defend myself better, and I figure that’s the best place to do so,” Bradshaw shrugged.

“But you have good grades, nearly the best in the entire school! You could go to, like, any school you wanted!”

“No way. I’m done with academic school. Plus, going to the Academy would allow me to gain valuable social experience.”

“Hearing ‘I’m done with school’ sounds kind of weird coming from you.”

“Ha, well, you’re pretty much the only thing keeping me _in_ school at the moment. If it wasn’t for you, I’d have become ambitious and graduated, like, two years ago.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“No, I mean, _too_ ambitious. Wrastor, if I graduated two years early, I would probably fucking die. I wouldn’t fit in with anyone at any college, I wouldn’t have the motivation to do any actual college work, and worst of all, I wouldn’t have _you._ You’re the best possible fr-” Bradshaw paused and shook his head, laughing a little. “Sorry, still getting used to that. You’re the greatest possible _boy_ friend I could have ever wished for.” Wrastor turned over to face Bradshaw, looking into his eyes as he spoke. “You’re sweet, and nice, and funny, and you make my life worth living. B-basically, I love you, and I’m glad that we both realized that.”

 _You make my life worth living._ The words bounced around in Wrastor’s head for a second before they became fully coherent. “I…” Wrastor paused for what felt like _far_ too long, gathering his thoughts. “I mean, I wish I knew what to say in response to that. W-well, except maybe this.” He quickly wrapped his wings around Bradshaw and kissed him on his beak, holding the position until it became too uncomfortable and he let go. He looked back to Bradshaw, eyes aglow in the light of the lantern close by. “I-I guess all I can say is that I love you too. And thank you for being pretty much the only person to love me back.”

Bradshaw smiled. “Of course. I mean, I can’t help that you’re just so adorable, after all.” He wiped a tear away from Wrastor’s face.

 _Am I crying again?_ “S-sorry,” Wrastor sniffed, smiling and wiping away a tear. Not a tear of sadness. A tear of joy, joy at finally telling Bradshaw he loved him and falling in love and being loved. They sat in happy silence for a few more seconds before Wrastor began feeling uncomfortably claustrophobic. “U-uh, do you think we could move to the mattress instead? It feels kind of crowded in here.”

“Ah, sure,” Bradshaw nodded, getting up. “O-oh, wait, are you okay with me seeing you without a shirt on?”

“Ah, that’s fine,” Wrastor said, starting to get up, but pausing midway. “Unless you don’t want me looking at you.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay.”

“Alright, then,” Wrastor said, fully getting up. He stretched, somewhat cramped from being in the sleeping bag for so long. He looked to Bradshaw, who quickly looked away, blushing. “Like what you see?” Wrastor smirked flirtatiously. “Well, you’re the one who was face-deep in there not even half an hour ago.”

“Th-that was different,” Bradshaw said, still looking away. “That was me not knowing what your bare chest _looked_ like.”

“Well, you look pretty cute, too.” Wrastor put a wing on the back of his neck, screaming internally. “Well, more like _perfectly_ cute, but my point stands. I’d kiss you even if I wasn’t gay.”

Bradshaw snorted, his face reddening even more. “Let’s j-just get into bed.”

“You got it,” Wrastor grinned, winking and pointing some feather guns at Bradshaw.

Bradshaw rolled his eyes and grabbed three blankets as Wrastor laid down on the mattress. He threw them on top of it and got under the blankets, laying down next to Wrastor. “S-so, uh…” He thought for a second, and then spoke. “What the heck was that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Dude, you are _not_ a flirter. Or, well, not the kind of guy that seems like he’d flirt.”

“Ah, what can I say? When I’m around you, I feel like being an absolute dumbass.”

Bradshaw laughed. “Same here. I guess that’s what love does to people, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Wrastor smiled, and then yawned. “Good god, what time is it? I usually stay up until, like, at least midnight at the Ding Dong Tree.”

Bradshaw grabbed a watch from the pile of clothes he had left by his sleeping bag. “Uhh… Oh, damn, it’s 2:00 in the morning.”

“We’ve been up that long? Wow.”

Bradshaw yawned. “At least we don’t have school tomorrow.”

“Yeah, thank god for that. I don’t know how I’d function in school if I had my boyfriend in multiple classes with me.”

“Oh, yeah, it would definitely be tough. Or, rather, _will_ be tough.”

“Definitely.” Wrastor yawned once more. “I think I’m going to go to sleep now. I love you.” Wrastor gave Bradshaw one last kiss on the beak.

“I love you, too,” Bradshaw smiled wearily.

Wrastor laid his head on Bradshaw’s stomach. It was warm, and the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed in and out was calming. He was calm, warm and happy, three things he rarely experienced nowadays. _My boyfriend and me in perfect existant harmony. What else could a bird ask for?_

Soon enough he drifted off to sleep.

He was at peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this all the way through! Also please give me constructive criticism -- I'd like to someday move past fanficiton and write and publish actual novels.
> 
> I decided to drop the whole time loop story and turn this into a one-chapter thing because frankly I have other projects I want to work on and it felt too confusing to finish with the time loop. Thanks for reading, though!
> 
> (Also try to guess what my favorite ship dynamic is lol)


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